Basketball assistant

ABSTRACT

A device that is designed to assist a basketball player with shooting practice by controllably dispensing multiple basketballs, one at a time, to the player. A vertical housing with an open top is used to store the basketballs one on top of the other and dispense the balls to the player. The housing has wheels attached to its bottom so the player can roil the device to any desired location on the basketball court. Underneath the stack of basketballs in the housing is a lifting mechanism that controllably raises the balls towards the top of the housing, for removal by the player. The player takes the top basketball from the housing, takes a shot, steps on a foot pedal and the player is presented with another basketball for shooting practice.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the sport of basketball and more specifically to a device for assisting a basketball player with shooting practice.

Basketball is a popular sport wherein two five-member teams try to get a round ball, the basketball, through their opponent's goal, called scoring a goal, as many times as possible. The team that scores the most goals wins the game. A game is played on a basketball court, which has a rectangular shape and the goals at opposite ends. Each goal is a circular hoop suspended 10 feet above the floor of the court by a backboard. The basketball players must dibble, or bounce, the basketball while they are moving with the ball. Once a players stops dibbling, he must either pass the ball to another player or take a shot at the other team's goal. If the player takes a shot and the ball goes through the other team's hoop, the player's team gets two or three points, depending on from where the shot was taken. Most basketball courts include a 3-point line that arches around each hoop. Shots that are made within the 3-point line count for two points and shots that are made from outside the 3-point line count for three points. While each team can score points with lay-ups and dunks, most points are scored in a basketball game by shooting the basketball through the opponent's goal. Good basketball players can make shots from within the 3-point line. Very good basketball players can also make shots from outside of the 3-point line. The only way for basketball players to become better shooters is for them to practice shooting, from multiple positions on the court.

A telescoping arm is a multi-segmented device that is able to expand and contract by having the segments slide into and out of each other. Typically there are multiple, similarly shaped, segments the largest segment being on the outside of the arm. The largest segment houses a slightly smaller second segment. The second segment houses an even smaller third segment. This pattern of consecutively smaller interior segments continues until the last segment is reached. Adjacent segments are mechanically connected so that the telescoping are can be fully extended without any segment becoming detached from their neighbor(s). Telescoping arms can be extended and retracted by various means, including hydraulics and pneumatics (air-pressure). Power for such systems can be provided by motors or by a person. If a person provides the power for a telescoping arm, a foot pedal can be provided to control the movement of the arm. An exemplary foot pedal control can be seen in traditional barber shop chairs, wherein the barber repeatedly steps on (pumps) the foot pedal at the base of the chair to raise the customer seated in the chair to a desired level. When the barber is ready to let the customer out of the chair, he steps on the pedal again this time keeping the pedal compressed and the chair descends to its original position.

Castors are coupling devices that are used to connect two items when free rotation, up to 360 degrees, is desired between the two items. A traditional castor includes a shaft that is attached to the first item and a housing that is attached to the second item. The housing at least partially surrounds the shaft and the shaft is allowed to rotate within the housing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A device that is adapted for storing and dispensing basketballs, one at a time, to a basketball player. The device allows the player to take multiple shots at a basketball hoop without having to chase the basketball after each shot. The device includes a housing unit that is able to hold the basketballs, one on top of another, in a vertical orientation. The housing unit has a bottom, four sides and an open top. The bottom of the housing unit has an interior side that faces the interior of the housing unit and an exterior side that faces the ground. A lifting mechanism that is able to move the basketballs upwards, towards the open top of the housing unit is provided in the bottom of the housing unit. The lifting mechanism is attached to the interior side of the bottom of the housing unit and is controlled by the player. The lifting mechanism includes a foot pedal that allows the player to move the basketballs toward the open top of the housing unit by stepping on the foot pedal.

A set of wheels are preferably attached to the exterior, bottom of the housing unit, the wheels allowing the device to be easily rolled to different places on the basketball court. Each of the wheels are attached to the bottom of the housing unit by castors so that that device can be wheeled in any direction. The sides of the device also preferably include openings, such as vertical slots, that allow the player to see how many basketballs remain in the housing unit. The preferred lifting mechanism is a telescoping arm with a concave shaped disk at its top. The telescoping arm is able to extend to the top of, or just below the top of, the housing unit.

It is an object of the present invention to help basketball players become better shooters.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an easy to maneuver basketball dispensing device that assists players with shooting practice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention of the present application will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, given only by way of example, in which:

FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment with basketballs in the stored position;

FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment with a basketball in the dispensing position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment with the lifting mechanism in the extended position;

FIG. 3 is a frontal break-away view showing the interior of the preferred embodiment; and,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional top view of the preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment 100 with four basketballs in the stored position. In the stored position, the top basketball 125 is just below the open top of the housing unit 105. The housing unit 105 allows for vertical stacking of the basketballs within the unit 105. The housing unit 105 presents the basketballs to a basketball player at a height that makes it easy for the player to grab and shoot the basketball. After one or more pumps on the foot pedal 120 the next basketball is presented to the player at the same height, allowing for repetitive shooting practice by the player. The housing unit 105 includes one or more slots 110 in at least one of the sides of the unit 105, so the player can see how many basketballs remain inside the unit 105. A set of wheels 115 are provided on the bottom of the housing unit 105 that allow the unit to be wheeled to any position on the basketball court.

FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment 100 with a basketball 125 in the dispensing position. In the dispensing position, at least half of the basketball 125 is exposed above the top of the housing unit 105, so the basketball 125 can easily be grabbed by the practicing shooter. When the shooter is ready, he steps on the foot pedal 120, one or more times, to move the next basketball in the housing unit 105 to the dispensing position. Slots 110 in the side of the unit 105 allow the shooter to see how many basketballs remain in the unit. And, wheels 115 allow the shooter to move the unit to any desired location on the court. The arrows next to the number 4 in FIG. 1(b) show the cross-section perspective provided in FIG. 4.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment 100 with the lifting mechanism in the extended position. In the extended position the top 200 of the lifting mechanism reaches a position just below the top of the housing unit 105. In the extended position the last basketball in the housing unit 105 would be presented to the shooter. The top 200 of the lifting mechanism is in the shape of a concave disk. This concave disk shape allows the top 200 to fully support the bottom basketball and apply upward, lifting pressure on the bottom of the basketball without damaging the ball. To move the top 200 of the lifting mechanism back to the stored position, the player merely steps on the foot pedal 120 and holds it down. By holding the foot pedal 120 down, compressed air within the lifting mechanism is allowed to escape and the weight of the lifting mechanism itself will cause the top 200 to descend back to the stored position. The player may also place or push basketballs into the housing unit 105 while pressing on the foot pedal 120 in order to increase the descending speed of the top 200 of the lifting mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a frontal break-away view showing the interior of the preferred embodiment 100, including the lifting mechanism 300. The lifting mechanism 300 is preferably a pneumatic telescoping arm that is controlled by the foot pedal 120. Each press on the foot pedal 120 increases the air pressure inside the lifting mechanism 300 and thereby increases the height of the top 200 of the lifting mechanism. In FIG. 3 the pedal 120 has been pressed at least once, as the top basketball 125 has been moved from the stored position to the dispensing position. The wheels 115 are preferably attached to the bottom of the housing unit 105 by castors 305. The castors 305 allow the wheels 115 to rotate 360 degrees so the preferred embodiment 100 can be wheeled in any directions.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional top view of the preferred embodiment 100. The housing unit 105 preferably has a square cross-section, however other cross-sections, including round, can be used in other embodiments. Also, while slots 110 are used in the preferred embodiment 100, openings in the sides of the housing unit can be provided in other shapes in the other embodiments. Further, while only one foot pedal 120 is used in the preferred embodiment to control the movement of the basketball 400, other embodiments could include more than one foot pedal so that the player can control the movement of the basketballs from more than one side of the housing unit.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology of terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 

1. A device that is adapted for storing and dispensing basketballs, one at a time, to a basketball player, the device allowing the player to take multiple shots at a basketball hoop without having to chase a basketball after each shot, the device comprising: a housing unit that is able to hold the basketballs, one on top of another in a vertical orientation, the housing unit having a bottom, four sides and an open top, the bottom of the housing unit having an interior side that is in an interior of the housing unit and an exterior side that is on an exterior of the housing unit; and, a lifting mechanism that is able to move the basketballs towards the open top of the housing unit, wherein the lifting mechanism is attached to the interior side of the bottom of the housing unit and able to be controlled by the player.
 2. The device of claim 1, further comprising: a set of wheels that are attached to the exterior side of the bottom of the housing unit, wherein the wheels allow the device to be rolled to different places on a basketball court.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the lifting mechanism further comprises: a foot pedal that is attached to a bottom of the lifting mechanism, the foot pedal allowing the player to control the movement of the basketballs toward the open top of the housing unit.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein one or more of the sides of the housing unit includes openings that allow the player to see how many basketballs remain in the housing unit.
 5. The device of claim 4, wherein the openings are vertical slots that allow the player to at least partially see all of the basketballs that are stored in the housing unit.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the lifting mechanism is a telescoping arm that is able to expand from a retracted position to an extended position, the telescoping arm having a ball support at a top of the arm that is raised substantially to the top of the housing unit when the telescoping arm is in the extended position.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the ball support comprises a concave shaped disk.
 8. The device of claim 2, wherein each of the wheels are attached to the bottom of the housing unit by a castor so that that device can easily be wheeled in any direction.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the housing unit has a square cross-section.
 10. The device of claim 1, wherein the housing unit has a height that is greater than 3 feet.
 11. The device of claim 2, wherein at least one of the wheels includes a locking mechanism that prevents the at least one wheel from rotating thereby preventing unwanted rolling of the device.
 12. The device of claim 3, wherein the lifting mechanism is operated pneumatically and the foot pedal is used to selectively increase and decrease an air pressure inside the lifting mechanism. 